http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008...5/fishing.food1

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008...25/fishing.food

More including video and audio clips at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/fishing

This post has been edited by Leon Roskilly: Mar 25 2008, 08:02 AM

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Interesting reading and something I have been observing too. I don't want to get into all those boring arguments with the commercial delegates on the forum, but is this not monopolisation of the fishing industry by the big boys ?

This years increase in cod quota (for some) comes at the expense of the small timers ? In turn those small timers get annoyed and instead of fighting back, decide to fight the anglers ?

Hello Glenn

It's the same for any industry during a recession the fat cats get fatter while the rest fall by the wayside.


The only fighting the inshore small timers are doing against anglers is in self-defence.

'Three-quarters of the fleet is chasing just 3% of the allowed catch of the most valuable species of fish, such as cod, hake and monkfish.'

Why don't you self-defence against the fat cats? They sit on the 97% of the quotas -and this is all about quotas isn't it?- instead of kicking the underdogs (anglers) who have no quota to share or give away?


In this regard it's funny to think about no nation keeps a ministry of attacks but they all got a ministry of defense, yet wars are started all the time. How is that?

No Peter its human nature. I believe fully the same situation would arise if you under 10 guys had never even heard of sea anglers before. Its human nature to strike at the same level or on the underdogs rather than those fat cats. To be honest you would be better off striking higher up. Even if you were to get anything out of self defence - it wouldnt be a lot now would it. If you were able to catch the fish anglers caught I dont think you would become a rich man With my catch rate you would be bankrupt by Summer

This post has been edited by glennk: Mar 25 2008, 08:50 PM

Hello Glenn
Maybe we should all aim a little higher. Regardless of who's caught what, and how, the ultimate responsibility for the fishery lies with Defra. They were tasked with looking after it, and they've done a terrible job. They must be laughing their cods off, watching RSA's and commercials slugging it out over what they have done.

If I was a conservation minded commercial fisherman like yourself Peter I would be very angry with MAFF & now Defra for alowing this situation to happen.
As I have said before in order to do better for themselves and theirfamilies fishermen have to catch more fish, who would blame a man for trying to better himself finantually?
The way I see it is that its DEFRAs fault for grossly miss managing our fishery. Its not imposable to manage a fishery, just look at Norway and Iceland. Its the CFP that we need to pull out of, then send our war ships to deffend our boarders. Sound daft doesnt it, but it would work.
RSA aint going to get anywhere against until they realise that not all commercials are greedy granny flogging buggers and that DEFRA and the govenments atitudfe to the EU are the bad guys in this.

Don't hear the arm chair commercials moaning about quota, the ones that sell and lease it. They have a part to play in the share out. There are the line caught sw association that appears to have cracked it and indicate they are an expanding industry.

The scottish sector are having record landings, how come they have quota and the under tens and the rsa are left with the crumbs. What about the nffo, could they not do some thing for the under tens. Sounds like a dog eat dog industry.

Hope the last bit of one of Leon's links is not true where the eastern europeons are being hired for the minimum wage and being forced to pay for board and lodgings aboard. Dog eat dog?

This post has been edited by barry luxton: Mar 26 2008, 07:30 AM

I did hear that netted fish were being sold as line caught, dont know how true this is.

Hello Barry

The arm chair pirates are doing very nicely and no doubt if the under tens are forced into buying or leasing quota they will do even better as demand increases like any other commodity the price will go up.

The Scottish record landings consist mainly of haddock and nephrops (prawns) along with the pelagic sector which has been doing very well, cod feature pretty low on landing records.
Further south we don't have a haddock fishery or a nephrop fishery and a under ten can't carry a hundred tons of herring or mackerel.
The NNFO are mainly influenced by the big boys and I have not seen any inclination by them to get involved with the under ten problems, I doubt many of their members would willingly donate any quota.

I don't know how you fit RSA into the equation? not yet any way.

Eastern Europeans are being employed more and more, I don't know about minimum wages, wages are normally worked out on a share basis but I guess with rising costs a lot of crew could be considered to be on minimum wage. In some cases living aboard does happen on the bigger boats and no doubt some owners will charge for it whether Eastern European or not and no doubt some will take advantage of work hungry Europeans, it's a dog eat dog world and not confined to the fishing industry.